TV and film adaptations of Jane Austen’s novel have been rife lately, but we shouldn’t forget another Brit Lit standby, Mr. Charles Dickens.
TV Section
Barnaby Rudge (1960) A sweet, simple-minded youth is swept up by the mob into acts of horrible violence and barbarism.
Bleak House (1985) At the court of Chancery, the Jarndyce and Jarndyce case grinds on for years with no end in sight, destroying several lives in the process. Stars Diana Rigg and Denholm Elliott.
Bleak House (2005) Stars Carey Mulligan, Gillian Anderson and Charles Dance.
David Copperfield (2000) Starring Maggie Smith, Bob Hoskins and Ian McKellen.
Dombey and Son (1983) The story of a powerful man whose coldhearted neglect of his family causes his professional and personal downfall. Stars Julien Glover.
Great Expectations (1981) A boy befriends a girl who has been trained as an instrument of revenge by her mother. Starring Pasty Kensit.
Hard Times (1994) A brother and sister suffer from their cold upbringing. Stars Alan Bates and Richard E. Grant.
Little Dorrit (2008) A man’s search for his mother brings him to a debtors’ prison, where he learns about struggle and hardship in 1820s England.
Martin Chuzzlewit (1994) An old man with a large fortune and an even larger set of family and friends must decide who will inherit his riches. Stars Paul Scofield, John Mills and Pete Postlethwaite.
The Old Curiosity Shop (1979) Young Nell Trent lives with her ailing grandfather in a run-down antique shop, unaware that her grandfather’s gambling addiction has left them nearly penniless.
The Old Curiosity Shop (1995) Starring Peter Ustinov, Tom Courtney and James Fox.
The Old Curiosity Shop (2007) Stars Derek Jacobi.
Oliver Twist (1985) The adventures of a young orphan in Victorian London.
Our Mutual Friend (1998) A pair of turbulent love affairs plays out amidst a tangled web of wealth, corruption, passion and betrayal in 1860s London. Stars Paul McGann.
The Pickwick Papers (1985) The ramblings, adventures and travels of the members of the Pickwick Club as they wander about the countryside, getting into trouble wherever possible.
Movies
A Christmas Carol (1951) A mister is haunted by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. Starring Alastair Sim.
Great Expectations (1946) See description above. Directed by David Lean and starring John Mills, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness.
Nicholas Nickleby (2002) The tale of a family left destitute following the patriarch’s death. Stars Christopher Plummer, Nathan Lane and Alan Cumming.
Oliver Twist (1948) Directed by David Lean and starring Alec Guinness.
Several other adaptations of Mr. Dickens works are available through inter-library loan. The novels themselves can be found in the Reader Services department. ~ Ken
